Illustrated by T. Flavin. 32 pages. Whitman, 2003.
When teacher Mrs. Mack shares with her class the news that she's going to be a grandmother, the kids want to talk about their families. Families are big and small, come in many colors and have ancestry in many countries, include adopted and biological children, and can have all kinds of parents - married parents, single parents, stepparents, grandparents, and two mommies. Families have a variety of living arrangements. The kids think of several kinds of happy and sad times that their families have had together, and Mrs. Mack tells them that families support each other in bad times and enjoy good times together. She affirms the importance of each child in his or her family, and the specialness of each family. One limitation is that a child of divorced parents explains that "that's the way it is when you divorce" - but he hasn't divorced; his parents have. Otherwise, though, this book will promote acceptance of all kinds of families.
Ages: 4-8
Cultural Context: multicultural
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller
Illustrated by Gregory Christie. 32 pages. Lee & Low, 1997.
Growing up poor in the segregated South, Richard longs to read, but is not allowed to borrow library books because he is African American. A co-worker lends him his library card. Richard tells the librarian he is checking out books for the co-worker, and when he is questioned, he says he is illiterate. Later, his co-workers taunt him about his reading. Yet Richard is profoundly moved by what he reads; for him, books are an important part of his journey to freedom. This is an inspiring story of a courageous struggle against racism.
Ages: 7-10
Cultural Context: multicultural
Growing up poor in the segregated South, Richard longs to read, but is not allowed to borrow library books because he is African American. A co-worker lends him his library card. Richard tells the librarian he is checking out books for the co-worker, and when he is questioned, he says he is illiterate. Later, his co-workers taunt him about his reading. Yet Richard is profoundly moved by what he reads; for him, books are an important part of his journey to freedom. This is an inspiring story of a courageous struggle against racism.
Ages: 7-10
Cultural Context: multicultural
Monday, September 11, 2006
September Roses by Jeannette Winter
40 pp. Farrar/Frances Foster, 2004.
Two sisters in South Africa, professional rose growers, pack 2,400 roses for a flower show to be held in New York City. They arrive on September 11, 2001, witnessing the devastation of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Because there is no place for the sisters to go, they stay in the airport until a man offers them a place to stay. In return, they offer him their roses. He brings them to Union Square, where the roses are needed. The sisters arrange the roses on the grass in a memorial to the two towers. This story offers children a way to be kind and to create meaning in a devastating time.
Ages: 5-8
Cultural Context: multicultural
Two sisters in South Africa, professional rose growers, pack 2,400 roses for a flower show to be held in New York City. They arrive on September 11, 2001, witnessing the devastation of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Because there is no place for the sisters to go, they stay in the airport until a man offers them a place to stay. In return, they offer him their roses. He brings them to Union Square, where the roses are needed. The sisters arrange the roses on the grass in a memorial to the two towers. This story offers children a way to be kind and to create meaning in a devastating time.
Ages: 5-8
Cultural Context: multicultural